Although there is an influx of comic related movies at present, the
origins can be traced back to Tim Burton’s Batman that starred
Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. The movie
also helped turn the world of comics into a truly workable medium.
And to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Batman, Warner
have released the definitive Batman collection on Blu-ray that
collects the following movies.

Batman
After a young boy witnesses his parents' murder on the streets of
Gotham City, he grows up to become Batman, a mysterious figure in
the eyes of Gotham's citizens, who takes crime-fighting into his own
hands. He first emerges out of the shadows when the Joker appears --
a horribly disfigured individual who is out for revenge on his
former employer -- but the identity of the bat is unknown. Perhaps
millionaire Bruce Wayne and photographer Vicki Vale have a good
chance of finding out?

Batman ReturnsGotham City faces two monstrous criminal menaces: the bizarre,
sinister Penguin (Danny DeVito) and the slinky, mysterious Catwoman
(Michelle Pfeiffer). Can Batman (Michael Keaton) battle two
formidable foes at once? Especially when one wants to be mayor and
the other is romantically attracted to Gotham's hero?

Batman & Robin
Chills and thrills - will Gotham City be put on ice? George Clooney
is Batman as the dark knight battles his greatest threat yet,
coldhearted Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and venomous Poison
Ivy (Uma Thurman). Batman has more than Gotham City to protect the
youthful eagerness of crime fighting comrades Robin (Chris ODonnell)
and Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) puts them frequently in harms way.
New very special effects include a wild skysurfing sequence and
Freezes outrageous iceblasting arsenal. Its state-of-the-art
excitement from our Batfamily to yours!

Although these movies were neither as dark nor inspirational as the
current installment of Batman movies, these films did assist in
creating the world of comic book movies to the big screen.

The original two movies
were directed by Tim Burton until Joel Schumacher was handed the
reigns in Batman Forever that changed the franchise significantly.
Although the two original movies in this franchise are clearly the
best, the third and fourth sequels still had some of that over the
top 90’s charm such as Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze or George
Clooney as Batman.

Batman starred Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, a billionaire by day
and crime fighter by night who as a child witnessed his parents
death by the hands of lowly street criminal. From that moment on,
his life was forever changed and through years of training and the
ability to purchase and create amazing technology, he became the
Batman. Unfortunately for Batman, with every hero comes a villain
and that was the Joker who was brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson.
Batman’s love interest Vicky Vale was played by the beautiful Kim Basinger who is unwittingly brought into the Joker’s plans. This
Batman movie was almost on par with the original Richard Donner's Superman movie with
Christopher Reeves as Superman due to the impact it made. Although there was some homage to
the Adam West Batman, this incarnation was as far away as possible
to that.

With the popularity of the original movie, Batman Returns hit the
screen and once again returned Tim Burton as director and Michael
Keaton as Batman. A new set of villains were introduced to the
mythology that included Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle
Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Needless to say, this was the “darkest” Batman
in this current series due to the characterization of all involved,
even our beloved Batman. Gotham City never looked darker neither
thanks to the wondrous Gothic-like sets that made this fictitious
city almost real.

From there the series became somewhat lighter with Val Kilmer
introduced as the new Batman in Batman Forever that was now
directed by Joel Schumacher. Gone were the darker days for Batman as
even his costume looked more heroic and light-hearted than his
predecessor. Tommy Lee Jones was introduced as Two Face (perfect
casting) and Jim Carrey as the Riddler, equally perfect casting. In
Batman Forever, the stories became more ridiculous and over the top,
almost returning the genre to the years of Adam West. Nicole Kidman
played Bruce Wayne and Batman’s love interest, however she became
lost in the number of stars and the convoluted storyline.

Finally in 1997 came Batman & Robin that once again
introduced Batman to the silver screen with George Clooney playing Batman and Chris
O’Donnell as Robin. Controversy was created in this movie because
Batman and Robin’s suits now had nipples. Why? We really don’t know
but this was high of the series in terms of ridiculousness and movie
paraphernalia. With that said, there were way too many stars in this
movie that included Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman
as Poison Ivy and a brief cameo of supermodel Vendella as Mr.
Freeze’s love interest. It was over the top, unbelievable but
embarrassingly enjoyable. One redeeming feature was Alicia
Silverstone as Batgirl... perfect casting.

The video quality of Batman, although in high definition is
unfortunately a little dated, however as the movies progress,
technology changes and so does the quality. Batman Forever is
actually very impressive on Blu-ray thanks to the wondrous colours
and detailed backdrops. Even so, for a movie that is over 20 years
old, this is now the definitive version as they have all received
that slight Blu-ray makeover.

When it comes to audio, the Batman movies have
never sounded better, thanks to the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD which simply
sounds phenomenal on our surround sound setup. Hearing the majestic
soundtrack of Danny Elfman or Arnold Schwarzenegger shouting “kill
the heroes!” is pure bliss. Whether it’s the music, dialogue or
background sounds, everything comes together perfectly and for the
age of the movies, it’s rather quite impressive.

However, where the Batman Anthology does shine is through the
additional content that is available for the viewer which is simply
quite ridiculous, however thoroughly satisfying. Without going into
too much depth as this review would become war and peace, simply by
looking at the special features, you immediately know that you are
in for a treat.

Special features for Batman:

Commentary by director Tim Burton
On the Set with Bob Kane
Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery
Prince Music Videos
The Heroes and the Villains Profile Galleries
Batman: The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence
Theatrical Trailer

Special features for Batman Returns:

Commentary by director Tim Burton
The Bat, The Cat and The Penguin Making-of Featurette
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery
Siouxsie and the Banshees "Face to Face" Music Video
The Heroes and the Villains Profile Galleries
Theatrical trailer

Commentary by Director Joel Schumacher
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight
Additional Scene: Alfred's Lost Love
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery
Four Music Videos
The Heroes and the Villains Profile Galleries
Theatrical Trailer

The highlights for Impulse Gamer was the featurettes with Bob Kane,
one of Batman’s creators and the “Legends of the Dark Knight: the
History of Batman” featurettes that gives us a unique in-depth
insight into the many incarnations of the character.

Batman Returns
boasts some great interviews with many comic book professionals that
give their own perspective on the characters and movies. There is
even a great scene with Sean Young who desperately wanted the role
of Catwoman and tried valiantly to get this role. She’s a cutey but
nutter!

Burton’s commentary is quite insightful, although at times a
little lackluster but it’s great to see how the mind of a genius may
or may not work. Batman Forever continues the “Shadow of the Bat”
documentaries and has a featurette with Chris O’Donnell about the
third movie. Lastly, we have Batman & Robin that contains some great
Heroes and Villains profile galleries and some interesting
commentary by Joel Schumacher who some say was responsible for the
worst Batman film ever made. I tend to disagree.

In
conclusion, this is the definitive version of the Batman films from
the 80’s and 90’s that gives you a great insight into Hollywood at
the time. Some of the stories are dated, however others are still as
fresh as they were produced yesterday. If you are a fan of the
character or someone interested in this genre than we could happily
recommend this box set to you. Just be warned though that the
quality is not on par with modern Blu-ray films. Even so, it’s a
thrilling ride that lasted almost ten years.